Bullet With Butterfly Wings
by ninaxwings
Summary: Season 4 OC submissions story. Not a walk-through. Jack struggles to do the right thing while John Locke undermines him. I'm keeping submissions open for now. First chapter up!
1. Form

Hello everyone! I've been reading lots of OC submission fics lately and I've decided I like them enough to try writing one. This one is going to be a little different. It starts at the beginning of season four. The screen time will be pretty even between the Losties and Ocs. I will be accepting submissions for the female lead. She's Ben's adopted daughter, an Other, she needs to be between 19-22. I'm toying with the idea of her having a dog so feel free to include details in her bio. I would also like to have one or two Ocs on the freighter. Everyone else came from the plane.

I will only accept characters that jump out at me. I want fresh, original, ideas people. Do not bombard me with rape victims or angsty teenagers. That doesn't mean your character can't be either of those, they just need to have one hell of a story to go along with it.

Name:

Age:

Appearance:

Personality:

History:

Lostie/Freighter/female lead:

Strengths/ special skills:

Weaknesses:

Friends:

Enemies: Why?

Crushes/pairing (anything goes) :

Occupation:

What song sums up your character perfectly?

Anything else?


	2. IntroPandora

Hello everyone. I have chosen a female lead. Meet Pandora. Submissions are still open. I would really like for the bios to look like this one, lots of detail.

Name: Pandora (She never took the name Linus)

Age: 20

Appearance: Pandora has dark brown hair and an olive skin tone. She's of average height at about 5'4, and has brown eyes.

Personality:

Pandora is certainly her father's daughter-being raised by Benjamin Linus means that Pandora is better at lying and manipulating than most people twice her age. Unlike her father, however, Pandora tries to avoid using people. She may be skilled at it, but lying always leaves her feeling guilty. However, sometimes she takes her dislike of lying to an extreme, and can be a little too honest with people, often telling them things they'd rather not hear. Pandora has a pretty friendly personality otherwise and tends to be easygoing and cheerful most of the time. But if she ever feels hurt or insulted by anyone, she'll find a creative way of getting back at them.

History:

Pandora was born on-island. Her mother and father, wealthy scientists, had spent most of their lives researching the island and how to find it. They set sail on a ship with a crew and several other scientists. Pandora's mother was eight months pregnant. A storm tore the ship apart, perhaps it was Jacob trying to bring her to the island. Only her mother washed up on shore, miraculously unhurt. Richard found her and tried to hide her from Ben and Widmore but they found out about her anyways. Widmore wanted her and the baby dead. Ben and Richard wanted to keep the baby after it was born. Ben wouldn't wait for the baby to be born and steps were taken to expedite the process(I don't want to reveal too much this is a big part of the story), leaving Pandora's mother dead. Ben took her in and loved her ferociously. Alex and Pandora had a beautiful childhood with Ben, until he became leader. Then he handed off babysitting duty to Richard and busied himself with the island. Alex and Pandora formed a deep bond with Richard, he helped raise them and would lay down his life (har har) to protect them. Over time Pandora has distanced herself from Ben and hardly feels anything for him anymore. Only fear that his selfishness will get Alex killed.

Pandora has become more aware and sensitive to Ben's use of manipulation, and has become distant from him and skeptical of his relationship with her.

Strengths/ special skills: She's extremely talented when it comes to persuasion-she can talk people into doing almost anything she wants. She's great at reading people and situations-she can usually tell if someone has good or bad intentions. She's fairly athletic and a quick learner.

Weaknesses: She'd do anything for Alex, even if it means putting herself in danger. Maybe even die to protect her. She also has trouble saying no to Alex. She can be a little stubborn and even rude at times.

Friends: Alex is her sister, no questions. but she's also quite close to Juliet, whom she looks up to as a sort of role model. She's friends with Karl, though she watches him closely to make sure he doesn't hurt her sister. She has met all of the losties and gets along with them except for Sawyer.

Enemies: Harper and Goodwin-Pandora thinks Harper is too manipulative, like Ben. She doesn't trust her. She dislikes Goodwin because she doesn't think he's good enough for Juliet. Lately, Pandora has also become distrustful of Ben.

John Locke

What song sums up your character perfectly? Sticks and Stones by the Pierces (because she can be a little intimidating at times

Here is the intro! I already have a lot outlined I just need characters so I can write it!

My name is Pandora. Not Pandora Linus, just Pandora. I am twenty and I have lived on this God-forsaken rock my entire life. I don't know my last name or who my parents really were. When I ask my "father" about them he ignores me and when I ask Richard he looks like he might cry. All I know is that we're all screwed. I was the last one born before all the pregnancy problems started. It's almost like the gods are angry with us mortals. Ben claims to be my father but Richard raised me. He taught Alex and myself right from wrong. She is like a younger sister to me, we grew up together. I am a Latin-speaking crash-victim kidnapping Other. Sometimes I dream of taking Alex to the other side of the island, to live with the survivors. Away from Ben and the dangerous games he plays. The only reason we're still here is because he would kill everyone in his path until he found us. Chaos is on the horizon now. This island has changed hands many times but now I feel there shall be no one to contain it. A freighter is coming with people from the outside world on it. I can see the fear in Ben's eyes I know these people must want him. We're traveling to the other's camp today so he can hide amongst them and sabotage Jack's plan to get them off the island. A woman from the boat is already here so in a way he's already failed but Ben won't go quietly and he'll let every man, woman, and child on this island die to save himself. Ben says he's taking us to our new family. I hope to God he's right. I feel like death herself is coming for all of us on this boat and only the furthest away from him will survive. We are almost upon them, Ben says the clearing is just up ahead. My name is Pandora and I love my sister Alex more than life itself. I've been so lucky in protecting her. There have been so many close calls. How long until our luck runs out?


	3. The Beginning of the Ben

**Author's Note:**

Anthony Rossi - Assistant chopper pilot from the Bronx

Tacey Chorster - She's blood spatter analyst that's dying to take a swing at Kate

Pandora - Could she be a canidate?

Will York - Love-struck surfer/stoner extraordinaire

Bethany White- The southern interpreter

Dylan Love- The pretty-boy sitting duck

Congrats you guys are in! I'm excited I hope you guys are excited. Oh, one more thing. If I end up juggling too many characters one or two of them might meet an untimely demise. I'll flip a coin to decide who.

Also, pleeeaaaasseee check out my other fic, Until the Day I Die and review it. I'll update this story really fast if I get reviews from you guys :D (I need help we should have an intervention)

Anyways, back to business.

Here's the first chapter. If your character isn't in it they'll be in the next one

Jack stands tall like a warrior, shoulders squared as his worst nightmare walks through the trees into the clearing. Even though the entire camp is behind Jack he is nervous. He surveys the people standing closest to him. The ever-squabbling Kate and Tacey, scary smart Bethany, pot head Will and blonde moment Dylan (he's a brunette). _God help us all _Jack thinks to himself. What has Ben got up his sleeve? Naomi stands to Jack's right, fiddling with the satellite phone while Will York tries to flirt with her. He'd been following her like a puppy since she parachuted onto the island. Kate circles around Ben and his daughters to make sure they're alone. Ben leered at Naomi.

"You're new aren't you?" asked Ben. Jack stepped in front of her.

"Don't talk to him. Don't even look at him. I'll be back in five minutes." Jack grabbed Ben by the collar and marched him off into the jungle.

"Do you think he's going to hurt him?" asked Bethany.

"No way, they're just having a chat, gentleman-to-gentleman." said Pandora, exchanging a look with Alex.

"Then why did Jack beat him up before?" asked Dylan. Kate looked like she wanted to hit her head against a wall slowly and repeatedly.

Naomi turned to Rousseau to ask about the radio tower but she had frozen and her eyes were locked on Alex. Everyone was quickly distracted by Jack dragging Ben back from the jungle with a bloody face.

"I thought you said they were talking!" said Dylan. Bethany shook her head in dismay.

"Darlin' you're prettier when you don't talk." she said. He looked confused.

"Somebody tie him up!" Jack pushed him to the ground and walked away

seething. Tacey Chorster produced a length of rope from her bag and stepped forward.

"I can tie sailor's knots but I need a couple people to move him so I can tie him to that tree." Pandora looked down at Ben's crumpled figure. Too bad he wasn't truly downed and this was just an act so innocent people could be killed in his place. Alex crouched down to check on Ben. Rousseau couldn't believe the resemblance. Her own face looked up at her and asked why she was staring. Ben spit out some blood and said

"Alex, this is your birth mother. She didn't die. I stole you." The color drained from the girl's face. Ben moved to comfort her but she screamed "Don't!" and pushed him back. Alex turned to Danielle and just stared. How do you react to having a mother after being told she was dead your whole life? Danielle put a hand on Alex's cheek and blinked back tears. In that moment Alex could see that her mother had never given up searching for her.

"Will you walk with me?" asked Danielle

Alex could only nod and smile shyly. Pandora crept over to Ben and knelt down by his head so he could hear her whisper.

"Alex has a mother now, and she's free of you. If you do anything to that woman or any of these people I will make sure you meet an untimely demise and I'll even have Sayid help me just for fun are we clear?"

"I raised you little girl. I taught you everything you know" Ben drawled.

"Richard raised me, you were too busy trying to rule the island. He taught me about integrity and compassion, two things you lack. Try me Benjamin. Carry out your evil plan, see what happens."

With that she promptly kicked dirt in Ben's face and walked away to hug Alex.

For once Benjamin Linus did not have a plan but that was ok because everyone else thought he did. He'd played his last hand telling Jack he had killed Jin, Sayid and Bernard on the beach. Of course they weren't really dead but Jack didn't know that and Ben had lost his leverage for now. Both of Ben's girls were angry with him. Alex would always love him but Pandora was threatening to destroy him and he wouldn't put it past her. She had always been angry, not sweet and gentle like Alex. Her birth had been so unnatural what could he expect? If she ever discovered her origins it would be the death of him. The group was moving through the jungle to the radio tower so Danielle could turn off her signal and Naomi could finally call the boat. Ben had to stop them somehow but how could he with Pandora breathing down his neck?

"Hey, Ben" said Pandora

"Need I remind you I changed your diapers?" Pandora leaned over so Alex couldn't overhear.

"Why do these people want you so badly?"

"You'll know soon enough." Alex tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled back at Pandora. She looked so content walking between her mother and Karl. "I only want the best for her you know." Pandora shook her head.

"You only want the best for yourself. Alex and I are projections of your narcissism." The group had stopped walking because they had reached the radio tower. Alex walked inside with Jack and Danielle. Naomi began searching for a signal.

"It should work now!" Danielle yelled from inside the tower.

"There's no signal over here…" said Naomi, she held the phone in the air.

"I'm taller maybe I should hold it." said Will. Naomi ignored him and turned in the opposite direction. Will smiled and just came around to stand in front of her again.

"I like it when the girl plays hard to get." he said

"Stop it, Will I'm trying to think!" she yelled. Will barely heard her because he noticed someone coming out of the jungle behind her. It was John Locke, and he had a knife. It dawned on Will that he was going to throw it.

"Naomi! Get down!" he dropped to the ground and pulled her down with him.

Ben had claimed Locke was dead so what was he doing coming out of the jungle? The knife was meant for Naomi, she hit the ground fast but the knife sliced her arm as it whooshed by. Will didn't have a scratch on him. John Locke realized he was in serious trouble due to his wounds and he had just made a woman with military training very angry.

"WHAT'S YOUR DAMAGE, MAN?" Naomi screamed. She had picked up the knife and was moving towards him with a crazed look in her eye. Locke was edging back not so heroic without his knife.

"The island spoke, it said you had to die." said Locke. Jack shook his head. Kate covered her mouth in horror. Pandora giggled because Naomi was clearly going to decapitate Locke in the next five minutes. Naomi's arm was bleeding badly and Jack knew he needed to look at it. Jack sighed.

"This is what needs to happen. John, you need to run before I shoot you for blowing up the submarine. Naomi, please put the knife down and come here I promise you'll get another chance to kill him we really just don't have time right now." Luckily the phone started ringing and it provided enough of a distraction that Naomi dropped the knife and answered.

"George…yes. Can you get a fix on the signal?" Suddenly, Ben who was tied to a tree started wailing at the top of his lungs.

"Jack! No! This is the beginning of the end!" Naomi screwed up her face

"He has to stop screaming I can't hear anything." Jack nodded to Danielle who abruptly elbowed Ben in the face. "Yes. Yes…yes!" Naomi clicked the phone off. "Here's the deal people, my science team is coming in on the chopper later. They're a bit special so it needs to be very easy for them to find us." Jack grabbed Naomi's arm and began examining it while she was talking.

"What if we don't want to be found?" asked Claire. Naomi glared at her exasperated. Jack spoke as he wrapped Naomi's arm with a cloth. She looked as if she might start screaming again.

"Listen, we don't know who these people are or what they want. Anyone that feels unsafe should go to the Dharma barracks." Jack put his hand on Danielle's shoulder "Can you lead them until I can get there?" She nodded solemnly.

"Alex, you and your friends need to be ready to leave in five" Pandora and Karl moved to get their packs.

"Pandora, I need you to come with me" Jack said

"Why is that?" she asked

"Leverage in case Ben tries anything funny while Danielle's in charge."

"Ha, you picked the wrong daughter."

As it turned out most of the camp followed Danielle to the Dharma barracks while Jack, Kate, Naomi, Will, Tacey and Pandora set out to meet up with the others from the beach and find a suitable landing site for the science team . For the moment Alex is helping to lead people to safety and Pandora is meeting the rest of the survivors on the beach but the girls will be together again sooner than they think under the worst circumstances yet. First they must grow stronger by completing the tasks at hand and the story must shift from our sisters for a bit.

Sorry you guys Roxanne is the character I was going to use originally then I decided an OC would be better. Hope that clears up the confusion.


	4. The Emerald Triangle

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**The first chapter was rough and I'm sorry. This one is better but I still think it sucks. By the next chapter everyone will be in position . There will be a new character joining us I'm just not entirely sure where I'm going to put him. **

Daniel Faraday is leaning on the rail of the freighter, staring out over the ocean. He knew he had calculated the bearings perfectly and there wouldn't be any problems on the chopper ride over to the island but he was very nervous. Perhaps it was because one of the last two men who had gone on an expedition to the island had ended up in a body bag and the other was strapped to the bed in the sick bay. Or maybe it was the large mercenaries with machine guns lurking around the ship that claimed to be security. Daniel took a deep breath and counted to ten. In five minutes he was getting on that helicopter away from the body bags and the guns and into something even scarier and more unpredictable. Maybe he would lose it this time and his mind would never be healed.

"Faraday!" Daniel looked over his shoulder, it was Keamy the scariest of the commandos on the boat. Daniel stared off at the water, avoiding his gaze. He knew what this was about.

"Why did Omar tell me you gave this back to him after I specifically told you carrying a gun is not an option?" Keamy brandished the shiny black handgun in his face. Daniel almost jumped out of his skin while trying to stammer out a response.

"I-I-I'm a scientist…why do I need a gun?" Keamy grabbed him by the collar and pressed the gun into his open hand.

"Because you might need to shoot something, genius!" With that he tousled Daniel's hair and walked away grinning like a Cheshire cat. Daniel immediately began hyperventilating and leaned back on the railing to keep from fainting. He looked to make sure Keamy wasn't watching and popped the magazine out so he could drop the bullets into the ocean. Daniel was convinced he was going to die on this island. Most likely be gunned down in cold blood. Ironically enough he was about to begin a new life and leave his pain behind.

"Faraday," yelled their pilot, Anthony Rossi "Leaving, now!" Daniel shoved the gun in his pack and strode across the deck to the helicopter. The rest of the team were organizing their tools and suiting up. Charlotte Lewis, the fiery anthropologist smiled brightly at Daniel. She was his only friend on the whole boat. Anthony exchanged a nervous glance with Miles Straume whose skills were still unclear to Daniel.

"Your sure about those bearings, Dan?" asked Miles

"Don't badger him, Miles he stayed up all night doing the calculations." snapped Charlotte. Daniel had to stop himself from cracking a smile. She had stayed up all night with him, and the other guys knew it.

"They're flawless." said Daniel. If there was one thing that didn't make him nervous it was physics.

"If you say so, buddy." said Anthony.

With that they climbed in the chopper and got ready to take off. Daniel had no clue as to what waited for him on the island. The man in the sick bay had said there were survivors from flight 815 with Naomi but he was crazy and all communications came through Keamy now. Daniel's thoughts were interrupted by an electrical storm that seemed to come out of nowhere. The helicopter shook mercilessly.

"Jump, genius!" yelled Miles right before he base jumped out of the helicopter behind Daniel. All of them would land in different places but eventually meet again. The question is when?

The survivors of 815 that hadn't gone to the Dharma barracks sat on the beach debating what to do next. The survivors bickered back and forth about what to do next. Tacey got up in Naomi's face, Jack got in between them. Everyone else just sat around bored. It was hours after the sun had gone down and the helicopter had never made it to the landing point. Naomi couldn't get in touch with any members of the team and she was starting to get worried. She was also ready to strangle Will, who was convinced he needed to be her bodyguard.

"We need to look for them." said Naomi "they're all a bit touched anything could have happened."

"I could have sworn I heard a helicopter earlier but it was only for a moment" said Juliet "We can't leave anyways, we have to wait for Desmond and Charlie to get back from the Looking Glass." Pandora looked at Jack, she was starting to lose patience.

"I think we should split up into groups," said Pandora, pretending to inspect her nails very closely.

"Naomi, how many people are on your team?" asked Jack

"There should be four on that chopper. They all have GPS phones but I'm not getting signals from any of them right now, hopefully that will change."

"The chopper must have gone down. We'll spread out in all four directions. Jack made the groups in his head before splitting everyone up. There didn't need to be anymore near-deaths today.

"Sawyer, go with Naomi. Kate, come with Pandora and myself," after a thought he added "You too, Will. Sayid, take Juliet and Tacey and Hurley you stay here on the beach and wait here for Desmond and Charlie."

"Why do I have to stay?" asked Hurley. Jack fished around in his head for a suitable answer but couldn't spit one out before Pandora's patience snapped.

"Hurley, you're annoying." said Pandora "You don't contribute and you would only slow us down which would result in me killing you and making it look like an accident." Hurley opened and closed his mouth like a chubby fish while the other survivors shot Pandora disapproving looks. Jack rubbed his temples.

"Okay, that was fun," He turned to his group "You guys ready?" Pandora made sure her handgun was loaded.

"The sooner we do this the sooner I can get back to my sister so let's find these nimrods."

Jack shook his head and smiled. Pandora was hated amongst the survivors but he liked her, she made him laugh. They set off into the jungle, after Pandora dragged Will away from Naomi.

Daniel Faraday stumbled and almost lost his footing. He had been lucky enough to wiggle out of his parachute harness or he would have been stuck in a tree. This island was like pictures out of a travel brochure. The plants and flowers around him were brightly colored like jewels behind glass cases. Crickets and night birds sang softly like they were welcoming him to the island. He awkwardly wrestled the helmet off his head and stared around in wonder, drinking in the rich tropical air. Unfortunately, the peace was about to be broken. He could hear voices coming towards him from the jungle, they were crashing through the brush and yelling to each other. They were almost on him now, any second they would burst through those bushes and…

He lost his train of thought because that was the first time he saw her. She had to be very young and she was beautiful, painfully so. She was Helen of Troy, Marilyn Monroe, but completely original. She was thin and waif-like with olive skin and a head of long, dark hair. Her dark eyes darted around the clearing instinctually, looking for danger. Her movement reminded him of a gazelle or a deer, liquid almost, lacking human hindrances. He wanted to remember everything about this moment so he would never forget. She was probably the last beautiful thing he would see before somebody killed him. His eyes met with hers as she sized him up, deciding if she could take him in a fight. The moment broke when three more people came running through the trees behind her. No more than thirty seconds had passed.

"We've been looking everywhere for you people!." said Jack. Daniel was still a little dazed. He tore his eyes away from the mysterious young woman and looked up at the man that was speaking to him.

"H-Hi I'm Daniel Faraday." he said "I'm Naomi's physicist."

"My name is Jack, meet Kate, Pandora, and Will."

Pandora jumped when she heard her name in the conversation. She had been swimming through the fog in her head. Who was this man? He had the sweetest smile but his eyes were so sad. For the first time in her life she had felt pain for someone she didn't know, a complete stranger.

.

"Pandora, are you in there?" came Kate's voice. _Pull yourself together _she thought. Pandora half-smiled and looked at the ground.

"Pleasure to..ah..meet you, Pandora." said Daniel. She nodded, trying not to catch his gaze again. Jack and Kate were baffled by her strange behavior but didn't bother discussing it. There was a storm brewing and anyone that wasn't keeping above water would drown. They deduced that Daniel's phone wasn't working because the tracking coordinates needed to be changed. "I'm a scientist not a computer geek" He narrowed down the coordinates of their location but figuring out which combination of numbers would produce a signal was a tricky business and he was stressed enough. Kate was trying to fix the settings on the phone so they could call Naomi and decide on their next move. Daniel watched Pandora from a distance, pretending to be reading over his journal. She reached her hands above her head and stretched. He noted the nine millimeter tucked into the back of her jeans and the way the sweat from the small of her back glistened on the barrel. It thrilled him. She thrilled him. He wasn't afraid of her, though he probably should be. He knew he wanted to talk to her, to ask her everything about herself and write it all down so he could always remember….his thought were interrupted by Will, who was standing behind him.

"I know she's hot, dude, but watch out," said Will, crouching down by Daniel so Pandora wouldn't hear "That girl is a preying mantis, she used to help kidnap our people, she kills bunnies and she put a pacemaker in my friend's chest."

Daniel was terribly confused.

"How did she perform surgery on a secret island," asked Daniel "And why would she kidnap her own people?" He didn't ask about the bunnies. He didn't want to know.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" said Will, he stood up and was gone from Daniel's side in a blink.

Pandora was walking over to him. A slice of tanned hip peeked out at him from her gray t-shirt and he saw the faint outline of what looked like a scar from a bullet wound.. He wasn't going to ask about it now, that was for sure. She stopped in front of him and looked down into his eyes. After a moment she realized she was staring.

"May I sit?" she asked. Daniel closed his journal and gestured to the ground beside him. She sat down and tried to focus on holding a conversation. Then she realized she wasn't afraid of him, he didn't make her nervous. It was like a switch had been thrown and they talked. He told her about his mother pushing him to excel in science, how he was the youngest doctor to graduate from Oxford. She shared her stories of growing up on the island and her childhood with Alex. Sometimes they sat comfortable in silence, listening to the birds chirp in the trees. Will joined them eventually and somehow the topic got changed to his pursuit of Naomi.

"Oh man," said Daniel "You're doing it all wrong."

"What do _you _know about women?" said Will accusingly. Daniel smiled sadly as thoughts of Theresa raced though his head. _If you only knew _he thought.

"Okay," said Daniel "Let me know if you change your mind."

He winked at Pandora as Will stood up and left in a huff, a flurry of blonde curls and coffee-colored skin.

A dark cloud drifted though Pandora's head. What if Ben found out about Daniel?

He could know about him already and strike at anytime. She could only be a human shield for Alex, could she really protect two people? Why did she even want to protect him? She didn't even know him. He distracted her with a story about a professor he had in college who drove his car into a donut shot, intoxicated. She laughed and put her dark thoughts aside, for now anyways.

Kate watched the young girl and the physicist in amazement.

"Beautiful," said Kate "I always thought that girl was colder than Chinese arithmetic." Jack looked up from the phone that never worked.

"Reminds me of…us that first week here." he sighed "what happened to us?"

"Benjamin Linus, the doomsday button, people-eating smoke need I continue?" Their conversation was interrupted by the phone beeping. "When did it get a signal?" asked Kate. Jack shrugged and stepped away to answer. There was not good news on the other end. Pandora, Daniel, and Will had come to stand by Kate and they were all looking at Jack expectantly.

"We have an issue, and a fucking tragedy. Which one should I tell you guys about first?" he asked.


	5. Clear Channel Fuck Off

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Frank AND Anthony were in the helicopter. Frank just didn't talk much, okay?**

Alex was worried. Her sister was a constant thought in her head. Pandora could take care of herself though and a shit storm was brewing at the Dharma Initiative barracks. A full day had passed since the survivors had made it to the barracks and there had been no word from the group that was searching for the science team. It was noon and the tropical heat was causing tempers to flare. Her mother was more than capable of keeping everyone in line but already there was talk of following John Locke, the mad man. Why hadn't they been rescued yet? Did these people even intend to rescue them? Ben had to know what was going on, he always did. Alex wiped the trickle of sweat from her forehead and stood up, stretching lazily. Even in the shade on her porch the heat was unbearable. A midday swim would clear her head and the ocean was always amazing this time of year. She ambled down the path, looking for someone to join her at the beach. Karl, or maybe her mother if she wasn't busy. _My mother _thought Alex. It was such a strange concept. For all these years she had thought she was Ben's and only his, she was told her mother was dead. Now they could be together, and it wasn't weird or awkward between them. Danielle had made it clear that she loved Alex very much and that nothing would come between them ever again. Alex was distracted from her thoughts by a rustling in the bushes. She looked up to see Richard Alpert coming out of the trees, walking towards her. He moved like a powerful jungle cat and his eyes danced with relief. For a moment he couldn't speak, he just put his hands on her shoulders and looked her over like he was checking for injuries.

"Alex, I've been so worried you had no idea." Richard had practically raised Alex and Pandora. He babysat them, put band-aids on their scraped knees, cut the crusts off their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Ben had been present but he had Richard do all of the hard work which he loved anyways and the kids loved him right back. "Where is your sister? We have to go, now." He wasn't himself. The anxiety was rolling off him in waves.

"She's with Jack searching for the science team from the freighter. What's going on, Richard? Why are you so afraid?" He would never leave their people during a time like this. Unless serious matters were at stake. Serious matters like her life or Pandora's.

"I'm not afraid, I'm worried for you and your sister. These people are here to extract Ben and kill anyone that gets in the way. You know he'd sacrifice anything to stay on this island. Even you, Alex." She would have liked to think his words were harsh, callous. Her father wasn't really the monster everyone made him out to be but he wasn't her father and Richard was right. "I have to go back to the Temple. Your father still expects me to lead while he plays prisoner. You come straight to me as soon as Pandora gets back, only you two and Karl. The Temple is only for our people." Alex took a deep breath.

"What about my mother?" she asked. Richard looked surprised, then his eyes filled with pain and regret. He took her delicate hands and held them in his rough ones.

"Listen, Alex one day I'll be able to fix this. Everything. I'll make up for all the suffering you and Pandora have had to go through. Right now I'm not the one making the rules, I have to follow them. We'll all be free one day, I promise." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed that beautiful, dark hair. She had grown up so fast. How had it come to this? The beautiful children he had cared for were in danger and he couldn't protect them. Alex didn't want him to go. She wanted to stay with her face buried in his chest forever but she wasn't a child anymore. Her lips brushed his cheek as they said their goodbyes and he disappeared back into the jungle. Alex tilted her face up to the sky and closed her eyes, knowing her sister would be there soon with answers. She wanted her family to be together, not scattered to the wind. She was distracted by a wolf whistle, it had come from a man she knew only as Brent. He was sitting on a picnic table nearby, he had probably watched the whole exchange with Richard. His blue eyes danced with laughter and he flipped his golden-brown hair out of his face when she turned to face him. In a way he reminded her of Sawyer, but not quite. Something was off about him. He held his hand out to her.

"We haven't been properly introduced," he said, grinning "My name is Brent Delacroix."

She didn't shake his hand. Instead she crossed her arms.

"I know who you are, and you know who I am," said Alex "So what do you want?"

He held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I just thought since we're all neighbors we should get to know each other," he said "So, who was that you were talking to?"

"A family friend." she said

"Y'all looked more than friendly." he commented

"Looks can be deceiving." said Alex. She could feel herself turning red. Brent stood up, Alex was a tall girl but at 6' 2" Brent towered over her.

"You don't like me yet," said Brent "But just wait, we're going to be the best of friends."

"And why is that?" asked Alex, taking a few steps back. Brent stepped forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Because you are cautious," he said "And I'm cautious too."

Alex didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily, she didn't have to because she spotted Bethany and Dylan heading in the direction of the beach.

"You guys!" she yelled "Wait for me."

She spun and ran to catch up with them without another word to Brent. He smiled at her retreating back. Ben's daughter would be a good ally to have, he would win her over somehow. He just hadn't figured out the _how _yet.

Miles Straume was not having a good day. For starters, he had almost died jumping out of a helicopter. His parachute got caught in a tree on the way down and that's where he was still hanging when the scariest looking Arab he had ever seen , a soccer mom, and a nerdy-but-hot chick found him. He told them to stay back and waved his gun around frantically which made him look quite silly since he was hanging upside down.

"This must be the ghost buster." said the nerd-esque girl, stepping forward. Miles informed her that if she took one step closer to him he would put a bullet in her face.

Blondie and Osama shrugged at each other and it appeared that they were going to leave him when his satellite phone started ringing. _Fuck! Fuck! It must have fallen out of my pocket _thought Miles. It was on the ground just out of his reach.

"Here." said the girl. She picked up the phone and pressed the answer button so Miles could talk. She almost dropped the phone in shock when John Locke's voice came out of the speaker.

Pandora was in awe. She had returned to the beach with Jack, Kate, Will and Daniel to find quite the drama.. Naomi had returned with Sawyer and she was currently engaged in a heated argument with Desmond. Pandora had never seen him this angry. She'd even seen him stumbling drunk before but this was indescribable. Charlie had died a hero's death in the Looking Glass station, sacrificing himself to Mikhail's rage and the ocean. In his final moments he had received a transmission from Penny, and the freighter was "Not Pennys boat". Naomi and Daniel were not with a search and rescue team which meant whoever else was on the boat was going to kill them all.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't bloody well shoot you!" yelled Desmond "You had my picture. You knew I would be here." Naomi looked torn. Her job was to land, extract Benjamin Linus, and get out. She was hoping Keamy wouldn't even be necessary but now it seemed inevitable that he would have to come for Ben himself. She knew the captain would side with her on rescuing the survivors and that was enough to overrule Keamy's decision to leave them but she couldn't see how this would end with nothing short of genocide. Desmond was still yelling when her mind came back to the beach. She looked at the people around her that she had spent the last week with. Jack the heroic medicine man, Sawyer the dashing criminal, Kate the beautiful, sad island warrior. Even Desmond in his rage was the shipwrecked lover trying to find his way home. She couldn't help them. Not now, not yet.

"Shoot me, Desmond." said Naomi, looking him in the eye "You should probably know there's a boat of angry commandos waiting to rush in and tear this island apart if I can't do my job."

"What job would that be?" asked Desmond, seething.

"Right now it would be finding my team. I'm short an anthropologist, the exorcist, Cousin Vinny, and Sloshy the Pilot. Excuse me." She turned away from him and walked briskly over to Jack

This news did not sit well with the survivors and there were a million questions that neither Daniel nor Naomi could answer yet. Pandora knew the answer to the sixty-four thousand dollar question but decided it would be best kept quiet until she got a chance to speak to Naomi alone. Daniel was being interrogated by Sawyer and he obviously wasn't singing the right tune because Sawyer was starting to get agitated. Pandora swooped in just in time to hear him call Dan "shifty eyes". Pandora and Sawyer had gotten off to a rough start when she helped kidnap him. Their relationship worsened every time the story about the bunny and the pacemaker was told. She had explained to him a million times that she had nothing to do with the surgery but it did little to help her reputation. She was one of the few people that scared him. Pandora walked right up to Sawyer and flashed a big, white smile in his face. This would have been the beginning of a long, drawn out bickering match but the satellite phone rang and a silence immediately fell across the group as Naomi answered.

"Juliet? How are you calling me on this phone? No, no, that's MY angry Chinese man. What? When? ok, we're coming right now." she clicked the phone off. "Let's go people I'll explain while we're walking."

Naomi's head spun as the key players in this high-stakes game of human chess argued. John Locke had Charlotte Lewis, the beautiful, bright anthropologist that had formed a bond with Daniel on the freighter. He wanted Benjamin Linus in exchange for her and they had until sundown. Jack's people were keeping Ben prisoner and wanted to exchange him for being rescued. If they handed Ben over to Keamy Charlotte would die. If Keamy found out Naomi let Ben go he would kill her. It was also very possible that he would take Ben and leave all of them, or kill them. She was certain her employer knew these people were here and didn't want them to be rescued. She thought back to the day she had met Miles for his interview. He had said the dead man was carrying papers, a purchase order for an airplane, photographs of graves that had been dug up. The paycheck with all those zeros. Mercenaries for security. She was too greedy to see it then, too confident in her skills. She was never meant to come back. Her team was never meant to come back. Keamy and his men were going to eliminate them as soon as their job was done. She couldn't let them hand Ben over while Keamy was on the freighter. They would have to lure him here and maroon him. Actually Naomi had every intention of killing him marooning would just seem more humane when she plead her case to Jack.

Frank Lapidus and Anthony Rossi had been captured by cannibals. They had managed to land the chopper on the island and were trying to get in touch with the rest of the team when they were both cracked over the head. When they came to they were being dragged through the jungle by barefoot natives. They asked questions but it seemed the natives didn't speak English. _They're going to feed me to their leader_ thought Frank _what a fucking awful way to go._ He heard a rustling in the bushes and another man joined them. He had green eyes and short dark hair. He had shoes and appeared to be wearing a designer button-down. This just kept getting weirder.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Frank

"We're trying to catch up with the people you flew over here." he replied nonchalantly. Lapidus didn't know how to respond. "I need all of you to be found."

"Why is that?" asked Anthony.

"Personal reasons." he replied.

"Well now that we're friendly," said Anthony "That's a really nice shirt what is that, Gucci?"

"Armani, actually," said the man "Now walk faster."

"Well it's good to see you guys keeping up with fashion on the evil island of impending doom." said Anthony

"Indeed." replied the man.

Frank and Anthony followed the strange, dark man and his people. For some reason, he seemed trustworthy.


	6. Forever Young

Jack and Naomi walked at the head of the party quietly discussing their situation. He believed her that the men on the boat had orders to kill them, he could see the fear in her eyes. They had agreed as a group that they would not try to turn Ben over until they knew more. Unfortunately, the woman that John Locke was holding hostage was probably going to die. There was no way the survivors would just let Ben go free in exchange for a stranger. They would wait for John Locke at the Dharma Initiative barracks and see what happened at sundown. It was a long walk back to the barracks. Anything could happen between now and then.

They stopped at one of the small creeks to rest after several hours of walking. Jack and Naomi had been going back and forth all day in hushed tones and it didn't look good to Daniel. They were sitting together under a tree, Naomi appeared to be pleading with him. Daniel knew it was for Charlotte's life. He had bonded with her on the ship. She helped him work on his memory problems and kept him from getting discouraged. He felt strongly for her and he knew his feelings were more than friendly too. He wanted more than anything to save her but he wouldn't even begin to know where to look. He knew someone that might help him though. Someone that confused him terribly. Dan was so sure of his feelings for Charlotte, so why couldn't he stay away from Pandora? Everything about her screamed _dangerous _but for some reason every cell in his body wanted to be near her. She smiled when he approached her, like she was happy to see him. Her face fell for a moment when he started asking questions about John Locke but she recovered well for how disappointed she was when she realized he loved Charlotte. Why was she jealous? She barely knew him. _You don't care _she told herself firmly.

"Pandora?" He was looking right at her with those sad puppy eyes. His hand reached out to touch her shoulder almost automatically, like he wasn't even thinking. Pandora wanted to turn away but she couldn't let him know she cared so she held still.

"I don't know where John Locke would be, Daniel." she wasn't lying, Locke could be holding Charlotte anywhere. "I couldn't take you to look for her anyways. I was only with Jack when we found you because he needed me for leverage."

"Leverage? Aren't you one of them?" Pandora sighed. He would find out eventually anyways.

"No Daniel, I'm not a survivor of the crash. I was already here." She knew what he was going to ask next. "Some would consider me Ben's daughter."

Daniel didn't know how to reply so he said

"You look nothing like him."

Pandora smiled even though she could feel him drawing back from her.

"I was adopted, genius."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of people moving through the jungle. Pandora reflexively drew her gun and aimed it at the direction the voices were coming from.

"Don't shoot, Pandora it's me." It was Richard's voice. She lowered her gun as Richard and two men she had never seen before came through the bushes. "I heard through the grapevine you were missing two pilots and a helicopter." he said to Naomi. She thanked him and pulled the two men aside. Pandora overheard her berating them. First she called the older man "Sloshy", then turned to the other man and asked him why he let Sloshy fly drunk. Will was hovering in the background, leaning against a tree.

"Pandora, we need to talk." said Richard, he nodded to Daniel and steered her out of earshot. It seemed like no matter how old she was Richard would always treat her like a child. "I need you to listen to me very, very carefully." he said.

She just nodded, waiting for him to speak. "You need to get as far away from these people as you can, being anywhere near your father right now is a death sentence, understand?" She had never seen Richard so scared and anxious before. She had always believed he wasn't afraid of anything. He may think she was still incapable of making adult decisions, but he had never talked to her like this before. He knew better than to question her intelligence.

"What's going on, Richard?" she asked "Why are you talking to me like I'm a moron?"

For a moment, he looked utterly and deeply depressed, then the look vanished from his face.

"There's no time," he said "I need you and Alex to come to the temple as quickly as possible, I can't protect you outside of the temple walls."

In her heart of hearts, she knew she was going to stay with the survivors. She didn't need to tell Richard that, though. She promised him she would come with Alex and Karl. He hugged her like it was the last time they would ever see each other and kissed her on the cheek before he melted back into the jungle. When she came back to the group, an argument was taking place. Frank (Sloshy), the head pilot was going to fly the chopper back to the ship. Desmond, Juliet, and Sayid wanted to go with him. Naomi and Jack stood by helplessly as they bickered back and forth. Finally, Naomi spoke up.

"Take them, Frank." she said in a voice that commanded authority. He opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it once he saw the look on her face.

"It's your funeral." he said to Desmond, Juliet, and Sayid. They had a quick, whispered conversation with Jack before they set off into the jungle with Frank. Anthony, the second pilot, had opted to stay behind. He walked with Miles once they started moving again. He was thoroughly confused, but from what he could tell this group was going to be way more fun than going back to the freighter.

Tacey had been walking in the back, listening to Sawyer grumble when she decided to catch up to Miles and Anthony. They were laughing and joking loudly and seemed like they would be way more fun to walk with.

"Well hello, my dark-haired Marilyn Monroe." said Anthony. Tacey couldn't help but laugh at his ridiculous Bronx accent. "What's your name and what does your daddy do?"

"Don't mind him, he's an idiot." said Miles.

"My name is Tacey, and my father was a lawyer." she replied.

"Did you follow in his footsteps?" asked Miles.

"No, I'm a blood spatter analyst," she said "Or I was anyways."

Anthony pretended to swoon.

"Those big brown eyes, that milky skin, your beautiful jet-black hair and intelligence to complete the package," he said dramatically "I think I'm in love."

Miles punched him in the arm and shared with Tacey that he could determine cause of death also, though his skills were very different from hers. Tacey bombarded him with questions and basked in the attention from both men. She liked having them both fight over her.

Alex stripped off her shirt and shoes and plunged into the ocean wearing shorts and a bra. Bethany followed her example and they played in the gentle surf, splashing each other and gossiping about the past few days at the barracks. They realized Dylan hadn't joined them and looked around for him. He was sitting in the water, ankle deep and drizzling sand on his legs. They swam back in and sat on either side of him, making a Dylan sandwich.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" asked Bethany. She absolutely adored Dylan. He had no common sense but that was ok, he didn't have a mean bone in his body and he never caused drama.

"I can't swim, you guys." he blushed and focused on the ground, unable to look at them. Alex and Bethany exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

"It's time to learn, Dylan." said Alex.

"I'm afraid, what if I drown?" he protested

"We aren't gonna let you drown." said Bethany, she stood up and pulled on his arm. Alex got his other arm and he came to his feet, allowing them to lead him into the water. They didn't take him out over his head, first they taught him how to float in waist-deep water.

"Wait," he said "You're telling me that as long as I'm holding my breath, I can't sink."

"That's right, now try to doggie-paddle." said Bethany. He successfully executed the doggie-paddle and they moved on to swimming underwater. Alex was distracted by a figure on the beach waving to her. It was Brent. What could he possibly want? She told Bethany and Dylan she would be right back and swam for the shore. She could feel Brent's eyes sweeping over her body as she came out of the water. He held a towel out to her as she approached him. She took it from him and wrapped herself up, thanking God that her black bra wasn't transparent.

"What the hell, Brent?" she was thoroughly puzzled by his appearance, and what was with the towel?

"I thought you would want to know, Pandora's back," he informed her "If you want to see her you better hurry cause she's about to go into a meeting with the A-team."

Alex hurriedly stepped into her shoes and put her shirt back on. She thanked Brent and started on the path back to the barracks. To her dismay, Brent followed her.

"What is your deal?" she asked, frustrated "What do you want from me?"

"Oh Alex, so suspicious," he replied "I don't want anything, you just seem like you could use a friend."

Alex picked up her pace and didn't respond. In truth, his words freaked her out.

It was decided that a memorial service would be held for Charlie. They decided to have it on the big, open courtyard in the barracks. Claire revealed that Charlie had told her he'd had enough of the beach and the ocean. Everyone was there, even people that didn't know him. They gathered in a large circle, his closest friends at the center. Jack, Claire, Sawyer, Brent, Hurley, Kate, Sun, and Jin sat at a picnic table that was at the heart of the circle. Jack spoke first, he talked about Charlie's bravery and sacrifice. Brent shared several of their funny stories that happened on the island. Sun translated for Jin, about how bright and positive Charlie was, how he made them laugh on the "camping trip." Claire wasn't able to speak, she cried on Brent's shoulder. They had gathered all the candles they could find and planned to blow them out at the exact moment the sun set. Pandora stood in the back with Naomi and the rest of the freighters. Daniel kept looking at his watch. They were all worried about the same thing. Would John Locke show up right at sundown or a few minutes or maybe an hour after?

"Stop looking at your fucking watch, Daniel." Naomi whispered into his ear. He nodded apologetically. Will had chosen to stand in the back and keep an eye out for Locke, for once Naomi was glad for his presence. She stood in front of him, hoping his tall figure would keep her out of Locke's sight. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Do I make you feel safe?" he asked. She smiled. This kid would never give up.

"Yes, actually, now stop talking." she replied. He kissed her cheek and stood up straight again. She prayed he wouldn't see the blush that spread over her face.

The sun began to set and Jack called for a moment of silence before the candles were blown out. Then they blew out their candles and stood there, holding their breath. After five minutes the crowd began to break up. Anxiety was thick in the air as the minutes ticked by and John Locke didn't show.


	7. Bullet for my Valentine

A half hour had passed and there was still no sign of Locke. Some of the survivors were gathered outside, some were in the houses nervously watching through the windows. Brent sat with Claire on the steps of her front porch. Aaron was inside sleeping peacefully, unaware of the turmoil that was taking place.

"Do you really think Locke will kill that woman?" asked Claire

"I wouldn't put it past him." replied Brent.

"I just can't see him executing someone like that." she said.

"Open your eyes babe, look what he almost did to Naomi."

"He was so good to me when I was on my own, after I broke up with Charlie the first time," said Claire "He built Aaron a crib."

Brent put his arm around Claire and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Forget about him Claire, he's a killer," said Brent "I'll be good to you now, you and Aaron."

"You'll go where I go?" she asked.

"Anywhere." said Brent.

"I think I'm going to leave with Locke," she said "I want to get Aaron away from these freighter people, they're dangerous."

"Then I'll come with you," he said "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

Claire was quiet after that. She leaned into Brent's chest and let him hold her. More than anything Brent wanted to take away her pain but he knew only time would be able to do that.

There was a definite split between the freighter people and the survivors. Hurley, Sun, Jin, and Sawyer were huddled together talking. They had been ignoring Jack all day. He had a sinking feeling that they were going to leave with John Locke. Kate stood on one side of him, Danielle on the other. Miles was standing with them. He was very quiet, you could tell he was worried about Charlotte. Tacey and Anthony were sitting on a picnic table, watching the jungle for movement. Pandora and Alex were deep in conversation and Daniel was right there at Pandora's side as usual. Karl stood behind Alex with his arms crossed, looking around nervously. Naomi came to stand with Jack, Will following close behind her.

"Will he really kill her?" she asked. Jack looked at the ground then back at Naomi.

"Locke is crazy and ruthless," said Jack "There's no telling."

"He will," said Danielle "He'll do anything to get Ben."

"Is there any point in me asking you to let Ben go again?"

"If it was up to just me I would, but it's not," he said "Please go inside I don't want you to get killed too."

"No way, if I have a chance to help Charlotte, I will."

Jack smiled. Naomi was a true leader, a woman after his own heart.

"At least go stand in the back, ok?"

She nodded and walked away with Will. They stood by one of the houses, Will leaned against the wall.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"Not scared," said Naomi "I am a little worried he'll try to kill me again, not just me, my entire team." She leaned against the wall next to him. He was growing on her. She wished he wasn't but he was. She kept replaying the moment he had selflessly knocked her out of the way in her head.

"Naomi." said Will. She turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"If Locke wants to get anywhere near you, he'll have to kill me, ok?"

Naomi smiled and looked away.

"That's very sweet, Will but I would never let you get hurt protecting me."

He came to stand in front of her and put his hands on either side of her against the house. He didn't pin her but she would have to push him to get away.

"I don't think you heard me right," he said, she looked up at him "Stay close to me, stay behind me, I won't let anything happen to you."

This wasn't the goofy stoner kid she had met her first day on the island. This was someone else. Someone that obviously cared for her very much. She touched his cheek and looked him in the eye.

"I'll stay close to you, Will," she said "I promise."

He dropped his arms and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He didn't have to say anything and neither did she.

"Do you think he's going to come tonight?" asked Alex.

"He'll be here," said Pandora. Daniel wasn't speaking, he just kept looking at his watch. "Is there any way I can convince you to go inside with Bethany and Dylan?"

"No way." said Alex.

"Come on, Alex I don't want you to get shot." said Karl.

"You go," said Alex "I'll be right behind you."

Karl kissed her and walked off in the direction of the house Bethany and Dylan were sharing.

"It's been forty-five minutes." said Daniel.

As if on cue, there was a rustling in the bushes and a woman with red hair and bright blue eyes walked out into view. Her hands were tied and she was gagged. John Locke was right behind her, holding a gun to her head. He had her kneel down.

"Hello, Jack," he called "Why don't you come chat with me?"

Jack nodded to Danielle and Miles and walked towards John Locke and Charlotte with Kate. The conversation was not going well. John Locke was waving his gun around and Jack had his hands up, trying to talk John down.

"If you aren't going to release Ben, then back up!" yelled Locke, pointing the gun at Charlotte.

"No!" yelled Daniel, he ran towards Locke. Pandora ran after Daniel, she could hear her blood rushing in her ears. What if Locke shot him? Locke fired a warning shot in the air and everyone froze. Pandora grabbed Daniel and spun him around, placing herself between him and Locke. A human shield.

"God damnit Daniel," she whispered "Please, don't get yourself killed."

"I can't let him kill her!"

"All you can do is get yourself shot."

Daniel knew she was right. He didn't try to run forward again.

John Locke was making a speech. He was talking about destiny and how the island was speaking to him. He said all of the people from the freighter had to die for them to be safe.

"Anyone who wants to live, should come with me." he said.

People started drifting to stand behind him. Sun, Jin, Hurley. Brent and Claire came with Aaron. When Sawyer switched sides Kate thought her heart might break. He crossed his arms and stood by Locke, staring Kate down.

"What are you doing, Sawyer?" she said.

"You made your choice," he snapped "Now I'm making mine."

Everyone was distracted by the dramatic triangle, including Locke. Giving Charlotte the opportunity to spring to her feet and run like hell. She didn't get far of course. Locke fired two shots into her back, then swung his gun around and pointed it at Daniel since he was the closest person from the freighter. Pandora knocked Daniel out of the way and Jack grabbed Locke's arm simultaneously. The bullet shot uselessly into the sky. Jack wrenched the gun away from Locke and pointed it at his head.

"Go!" yelled Jack "Before I change my mind about blowing your brains out!"

Locke muttered one last remark about how they were all going to die before he left with his group. Jack gave the gun to Kate and asked her to get his medical supplies. She took off like a shot. Then he ran over to Charlotte with Daniel in hot pursuit. She had landed face-down in the grass. Jack knelt down to examine her bullet wounds and was extremely surprised to find there was no blood. Daniel knelt by Jack.

"Is she dead?" he asked. Jack shook his head. He turned Charlotte over very carefully so she was laying on her back. Daniel scooted behind her and cradled her head with his hands. Naomi, Anthony, and Miles had reached them by then.

"Everybody, just give her some room, ok?" said Jack. They all took a step back. "Charlotte, Charlotte, can you hear me?" Jack called to her. Charlotte moaned.

"Charlotte, it's Daniel can you hear me?" he said softly. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around at all of them.

"He bloody shot me." she said. Naomi settled on the ground next to Charlotte and unzipped her jacket. She was wearing a bulletproof vest.

"That's why you ran," said Naomi "So he wouldn't shoot you at point blank."

"Aye." said Charlotte. Daniel swiped the hair out of her face and offered her a bottle of water that Anthony had handed him.

Somehow, it seemed like they were going to make it through the day without anybody dying.

It was getting late. It was probably about ten o'clock. The drama of the day had died down and now everyone was just talking about it. Pandora was sitting on the front porch of the house she shared with Alex, Karl, Bethany, and Dylan. She could hear them inside, talking and laughing but she couldn't bring herself to join them. She was heartbroken. Daniel hadn't left Charlotte's side. It was like she didn't exist. She was beyond trying to tell herself that she didn't care about him, she knew that she did. She kept hoping that if she sat outside long enough he would see her and come talk to her. There was also a meeting going on in the rec room. The meeting ended and the doors opened. Pandora had always thought of the A-team as Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Locke and so on. She loved how it had shifted. Now it was Jack, Kate, Naomi, Danielle, and even sometimes Tacey. She liked that the majority was female. Jack, Kate, and Naomi stood outside talking. Tacey walked off in the direction of the beach, probably going to meet Miles or Anthony or both of them. Pandora realized Danielle was walking towards her. She didn't quite know what to make of Danielle. She was tough and a little crazy but she loved Alex fiercely after knowing her for only a few days. Danielle came up on the porch and stood next to Pandora.

"Hello, Pandora," she said "Alex is here?"

"Yeah, she's inside."

"I'm glad Alex has you," she said suddenly, out of nowhere "I can tell you are a warrior."

"I'm glad Alex has a parent that isn't evil." said Pandora. Danielle flashed one of her rare smiles.

"You are a good girl, Pandora," replied Danielle "Don't let this island corrupt you."

She turned and went inside, probably to say goodnight to Alex like she did every night. Pandora stood up and stretched and walked down the steps. She was ready for this night to be over. She stopped and talked to Jack and Kate for a moment. Naomi thanked her for not letting Daniel get shot. Will walked up to them and Naomi left with him. Pandora continued on her way. She was thinking of going to the beach when she heard someone call her name. It was Daniel. Before she even knew what was going on he caught her in a hug and spun her around. His arms stayed around her when they stopped, it was like they were two magnets.

"You saved my life today, twice," he said "What did I do to deserve a guardian angel?"

She looked down, then back up into his eyes.

"I just didn't want you to get killed, ok?"

Daniel shook his head and cupped her cheek with his hand.

"You were ready to take that bullet for me today."

Pandora opened her mouth to protest but Daniel shushed her. "It's ok, Pandora."

He kissed her cheek and let her go, smiling back at her as he walked away.

_What just happened? _She thought to herself. When she got back in the house Dylan pointed out that she was blushing and they teased her mercilessly. At least nobody died today.


	8. Mobscene

Pandora was nervous. Very nervous. She couldn't find Daniel or Charlotte anywhere. Tacey had seen them walk off into the jungle very early in the morning and they hadn't come back. Pandora was worried that they had been grabbed by John Locke or possibly even her people. Who knew what Ben's orders were? Richard had taken a big risk bringing Anthony and Frank to her, he had operated outside of Ben's orders. Pandora stood outside the rec room, waiting for Naomi to come out of a meeting. What were all these meetings for, anyways? It wasn't like they would resolve anything. The doors opened and the A-team came trickling out. Danielle had invited her to join them earlier but it just wouldn't feel right. She approached Naomi and grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk." she said quietly. They walked out of Jack's earshot and sat down.

"Charlotte and Daniel went into the jungle and haven't come back yet." said Pandora.

"You have to be shitting me." was Naomi's reply.

"Not shitting you."

"I have to find them," said Naomi "Please don't tell anyone where I went."

"I'm going with you."

Naomi smiled and cocked her head to the side.

"You and Daniel are getting awfully close, I can tell you're worried about him." she said.

"Whatever," _Deflect! _thought Pandora "Do you have a gun?"

"I lost it between the chopper and the beach," she said "We need another gun, we can't go prancing through the jungle with one gun."

"Tacey has one."

"Well I guess we should grab her before she disappears with Miles...or Anthony."

They both laughed and set off to find Tacey.

Bethany was in the bathroom washing her face when Dylan came flying in, all smiles. He hopped up on the counter and grinned at her.

"Bethany, I've had the most amazing idea," he said "We have to make it happen."

He was a cute kid. Pretty face, bright blue eyes, dark hair and dimples to complete the picture. He was about as intellectual as a box of rocks, but that's ok he made up for it in other ways. Bethany turned off the sink and hopped up to sit beside him.

"What's your idea?" asked Bethany.

"We need to have a family dinner," his eyes were bright with excitement "I can cook, we have all these kitchens, let's use them."

"Dylan, none of these people like each other enough to sit at a table together for an extended period of time."

"That's exactly why we should do it, so everyone can bond!"

"Have you been seeing dead people in the jungle too?"

He jumped up and grabbed her hands. He was running around in shorts and Bethany could see the very silly lightning bolt tattoo on his shoulder.

"Come on, if we can convince Jack, everyone else will follow, that's what always happens," he thought about it for a second "Well, except for yesterday when half our people left with Locke."

He pulled her out the door as she cursed him first in Spanish, then French. He ignored her.

"If it's not in English, it doesn't count!"

Pandora had been worried and jittery at first. Now she was annoyed. She was tracking Daniel and Charlotte while Naomi and Tacey followed her, talking and laughing. She whirled on them, having had enough.

"Why don't you guys find the fucking trail and I'll following you giggling." she snapped at both of them.

"I'm a blood spatter analyst , you're an Other," said Tacey "I handle the dead bodies, you handle the trails."

"I thought you only giggled for Daniel." said Naomi. Pandora blushed deeply, turned away from them and started following the trail again.

"Well this is quite the development." said Tacey, catching up to Pandora.

"There's no development." if possible, Pandora turned redder.

"I'm going to tell you right now, watch out for Charlotte. She's pretty protective of him," said Naomi "You don't want to fight with her, she's way bigger than you, and I know Daniel gave her his gun."

"Pandora could take her, you haven't seen her in action yet." said Tacey.

"Speaking of action, what's going on with Anthony and Miles?" now Pandora was challenging her.

"Uhhh." was Tacey's reply.

"Well, don't hurt either of them, then I'll have to hurt you." said Naomi.

Pandora shushed them. Someone was moving through the bushes very stealthily. Just as stealthily as Pandora could. She heard the clicking of a gun . Her gun was in her hands in seconds and she fired two bullets into the brush. Someone shot back and chaos erupted. Naomi dropped to the ground, Tacey had her gun out and fired at the same spot Pandora had. Someone screamed in pain and Pandora lunged into the bushes. Naomi heard the sound of someone being dragged and more screaming.

"Over here!" yelled Pandora. They came to where her voice was. She was standing over a woman they had never seen before. She had a pretty face and brown hair and her shoulder had been hit by Tacey's bullet. Pandora handed Naomi the woman's gun.

"Beautiful shot, Tacey," said Naomi "So, who are you?"

The woman spit at Naomi, she was able to dodge it but it was a narrow miss.

"I know who she is," said Pandora "Her name is Harper, she's an Other, like me."

"Well, Harper, why were you trying to kill us?" asked Tacey.

"She wasn't trying to kill you guys," said Pandora "She was trying to kill me."

"You're a whore." hissed Harper.

Naomi crossed her arms.

"Well, that wasn't very nice. Why would one of your own people risk killing Ben's daughter?" asked Naomi.

"She thinks I got her husband killed."

Naomi and Tacey stared at her, waiting for the story.

"When Oceanic 815 crashed, her husband, Goodwin, and I were assigned to infiltrate the tail section's camp. Ana-Lucia, their leader, started suspecting me. I bailed and Goodwin stayed because he was making a case for her. He was kind of a man whore. Anyways, Harper here has been trying to get her revenge on me ever since. Oh I forgot she also thinks I hooked up with him, right, Harper?"

"I know you did. I was supposed to deliver a message from Ben , by the way." said Harper. They all looked at her expectantly. "Your friends are headed to the Tempest. You know what that means, Pandora. Your friend Daniel is going to release the gas." Pandora didn't know what horrified her more. That the gas was going to be released or that Ben knew about Daniel.

"We have to go," said Pandora, she turned to Tacey "Search her for weapons."

While Tacey was searching Harper Pandora pulled Naomi aside and questioned her about Daniel releasing the gas. She played the innocent card and said that Ben was just trying to mess with her.

"You don't know, do you?" Why was Harper still talking? Pandora rounded on her.

"Know what?" she snapped.

"Ask Ben about how you were born," said Harper "Or better yet, poke around in the files at the barracks. I'm sure it's there."

"She doesn't have any weapons," said Tacey "Come on, Pandora, she's clearly deranged let's go."

They left Harper bleeding in the jungle and set off for the Tempest. Who knew what they would find?

Jack was standing in the kitchen with Bethany, Dylan, Alex, and Karl. Dylan was seasoning a chicken that Bethany had killed and cleaned for him. He hadn't been able to do it and Bethany was a country girl at heart. Chicken murder was no big deal to her. Alex and Karl had rounded up all the canned vegetables they could find and were opening them to serve with the chicken.

"Let me get this straight," said Jack "You want me to round everyone up for family dinner, because it would be a great bonding experience."

"Exactly," said Dylan "It'll be like the first thanksgiving or the last supper, whatever!"

"Dylan you do know that it's January, right?" asked Jack.

"No. Yes. No. It doesn't matter. We need more togetherness!" said Dylan.

Jack rubbed his temples.

"I'll see what I can do." said Jack.

"Hey, Jack," said Alex. He looked at her pointedly. "Maybe we could bring my dad up, for said dinner. He needs fresh air he's been locked under your house for days."

"No way in hell." said Jack.

"It's inhumane, Jack," said Alex "Please, just for a little bit, we can handcuff him to the table."

"I'll think about it but most likely, no." said Jack. Alex gave him a big hug and neglected to tell him that she wanted to see her father one last time before she left for the Temple and they all died.

Pandora could hear the alarms going off from outside. They all drew their guns and rushed in. They had been so careful, so trusting. Neither of them was expecting what came next. Naomi let them get ahead of her and stopped.

"Stop!" she yelled, pointing her gun at them "He isn't going to release it, he's disabling it you have to trust me!" Tacey looked at Pandora for direction.

"I took the bullets out of that gun, get her, Tacey." said Pandora. She turned and ran down the hall, toward the room where the gas was stored. She could hear them struggling behind her. She came hurdling into the gas room and was greeted by her worst nightmare. Daniel was standing at the controls in a white biohazard suit and he was wearing a gas mask. The computer was basically telling him that if he didn't stop the gas would kill everything.

"Back up, Daniel!" she yelled, pointing her gun at his back. He pulled off his gas mask.

"Pandora, you have to believe me," he called over his shoulder "I'm disabling it so your father can't use it against us."

"I don't fucking believe you and he isn't my father, back up!" she was starting to worry. The computer was spitting out all kinds of code she didn't understand. Before she could make any kind of move a steel pipe smashed into her spine. She hit the ground and rolled before Charlotte could crack her head open with it. _Where's the gun? _she thought.

"Don't hurt her, Charlotte!" yelled Daniel. Charlotte ignored him and went for Pandora's head again but she was ready this time. She grabbed onto the pipe and used her legs to bring Charlotte to the floor with her. The pipe went flying and Pandora lunged on top of her and dug her fingers into the sensitive spots under Charlotte's collarbones. Charlotte swung at Pandora's face, her fist connected with Pandora's jaw. Knuckle crunched bone and Pandora felt her mouth fill with blood. Charlotte grabbed Pandora's hair and pulled, cracking her head against the ground. She managed to get one good shot in to Charlotte's face before Daniel was between them, pulling Charlotte off of her. Charlotte let go of Pandora and stood up.

"You disabled the gas?" she asked.

"Of course I did," said Daniel "I thought I said not to hurt her."

Charlotte crossed her arms and shrugged.

"She was going to shoot you, what was I supposed to do?"

"I love that you were protecting me, Charlotte, believe me I do. You didn't need to concuss her though."

Pandora spit out blood and sat up. She really hoped she didn't have a concussion. Daniel crouched down to check on her.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked.

"This many." she said, holding up her middle finger. Daniel used the sleeve of his biohazard suit to wipe blood away from her mouth.

"Yup, no concussion." he said. They were distracted by Tacey and Naomi's entrance. Naomi was looking around, horrified.

"Charlotte, whose blood it that?" she asked.

"Pandora's." said Charlotte.

"Tell me you disabled the gas."

"Is everyone dead?" asked Charlotte. Pandora had gotten to her feet somewhat steadily.

"Not yet." Pandora said, specifically to Charlotte. She shot Daniel a black look and started walking out with Tacey.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: whooo I can't believe I just wrote this beast. The fight was the best part. I really hope you liked it.**


	9. Sweetest Girl

"How bad is it?" asked Pandora. Jack was trying to clean the wound on the back of her head that she had acquired fighting Charlotte. She was sitting in a chair in Jack's kitchen. Kate was filling a bag with ice for her jaw. Tacey had brought her to him as soon as they got back.

"I'm not going to lie, Pandora, this is pretty bad." he said, dabbing blood away with alcohol-soaked gauze.

"Do I need stitches?" she was trying not to scream in pain.

"Only a few, you'll be fine." said Jack. There was a knock on the door, but before Jack or Kate could answer it banged open. Alex came storming into the kitchen with Bethany behind her. She rushed to her sister and looked over her wounds, deeply concerned.

"Does she have a concussion?" Alex fired at Jack.

"Alex, I'm fine, the island will heal this." said Pandora. Bethany had come to stand by Alex.

"Who did this?" asked Bethany. Pandora and Jack exchanged a look.

"Who?" Alex was trying not to yell. Pandora remained silent, she fought her own battles. Kate brought her the bag of ice and stood behind her, arms crossed.

"There was a misunderstanding at the Tempest," said Kate "Pandora got in an altercation with Charlotte."

"An altercation?" said Bethany "I don't buy that, what really happened, Pandora?"

Pandora shook her head. There was no way Alex was getting involved in her catfight.

"Come on, Jack," said Pandora "Let's get these stitches over with."

"I need some space, you guys," said Jack "Kate, can you go to the medical building and look for anything I can use to numb or treat pain?"

"Come on you guys." said Kate, ushering Bethany and Alex outside. She left them out in front of Jack's house and walked off for the medical building. Alex was seething. Charlotte and Daniel were sitting at a picnic table across the compound, talking in hushed tones. Daniel was holding one of her hands.

"So, you aren't going to do anything, are you?" asked Bethany.

"Oh yeah, watch this." hissed Alex, starting out for Charlotte and Daniel.

"Alex, come on, this isn't your fight." Bethany followed her, trying to sway her from her path. Alex wouldn't have it. She strode up to Charlotte and flashed a big, white, smile at her.

"Can I help you?" asked Charlotte. Daniel was silent, he felt terrible about what had happened with Pandora. Alex continued to smile and nodded her head.

"Yeah, Charlotte, as a matter of fact you can."

"Alex, no!" said Bethany.

Alex struck so fast, Charlotte didn't even know what had happened. If you watched a replay in slow motion, you would see Alex cock her arm back and neatly break Charlotte's nose in one carefully executed punch. Charlotte screamed and fell to her knees, pain stinging her eyes. Daniel sprung up to help her.

"That was wrong and you know it, Alex." said Daniel. He helped Charlotte tip her head back and held a handkerchief to her nose.

Alex crossed her arms and stared daggers at him.

"What's wrong is playing my sister," said Alex, "Next time, I'm coming for you." she shot him one last dirty look and walked away, shaking her fist out.

"You better take her to Jack," said Bethany, looking down at Charlotte with pity "Her nose will heal crooked if he doesn't set it, like, right now."

She followed after Alex and swore to herself that she would never underestimate her friend again.

Pandora was slumbering peacefully on Jack's couch when Daniel and Charlotte arrived. Jack gestured for her to sit down.

"Alex?" he asked. Daniel nodded gravely. "I'm sorry, this island is pretty cliquey, you have to be careful who you piss off."

Jack reset Charlotte's nose and sent her off to bed with a handful of Tylenol. Daniel lingered, he kept looking at Pandora's sleeping form.

"Why don't you stay with her while I check on dinner," said Jack "eight o'clock, family gathering."

"Are you serious?" asked Daniel.

"Serious as a heart attack." said Jack. He grinned at Daniel and left. Daniel paced in the kitchen, replaying the events from the Tempest in his head. Pandora had trusted him and he threw it away. How could things ever be the same between them? More importantly, why did he even care? He felt so strongly for Charlotte, and with another girl in the picture she had proved she would fight for him. Pandora would have too. Shit. He couldn't have the dark, mysterious, native and the brilliant scientist warrior as well. He had to choose before anyone else got hurt.

"Stop pacing, Jack!" came Pandora's groggy voice. Daniel walked over to the couch and knelt on the floor. Her back was to him, his eyes trailed the injuries she had gotten because of him. There were bruises all along her shoulders and he assumed they went all the way down her back. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about the Tempest.

"It's Daniel, Pandora." he said. She jumped a little with surprise and rolled over. Her pupils were pinpricks, Jack had given her some form of opiate for the pain.

"What are you doing here?" her voice was thick like syrup.

"Checking on you." said Daniel. To his surprise, she smiled.

"I didn't think you would come to see me." she said.

"I didn't think you wanted to see me."

He focused on the floor, trying to not look sad.

"Of course I want to see you." she mumbled. Daniel was glad the painkillers had taken her edge off.

"Do you need anything?" he asked. Pandora shook her head and reached for his hands. He let her take them and they sat in silence for a moment. "Your sweet little sister punched Charlotte out." Pandora's eyes widened.

"No she didn't."

"Oh yeah, broke her nose actually." Pandora smiled and nodded her head.

"Alex is fierce, I taught her everything she knows." said Pandora. Daniel smoothed her hair away from her face and let his fingers linger in the long, dark, waves.

"It was pretty nasty of her but I understand where she's coming from." Pandora took his hands again and squeezed them.

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah, she loves you, I get why seeing you hurt would infuriate her to the point of violence."

"You told Charlotte to not hurt me, after I had a gun pointed at you."

"I know."

"Why?" Daniel looked away but Pandora turned his face back to her.

"Because I care for you, Pandora. I just met you but seeing those bruises on your back tore at my heart. I hate myself for not telling you what I was doing, you could have been killed."

Pandora smiled and pulled him towards her. He moved closer to her and she leaned her head against him.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked.

"Of course I will. Go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

Daniel's heart was breaking. It almost hurt to be close with her like this. She was painfully beautiful and so much younger than him with her whole life ahead of her. He had taken Theresa's youth and abandoned her. He couldn't do that to Pandora. He couldn't hurt Charlotte by doing that to Pandora.

She nodded out after a few minutes, her fingers curled around his. He couldn't stay away from her and he knew it. This wasn't going to end well, not for Pandora or Charlotte.

Brent and Claire were convinced that Locke was crazy. They had spent the last couple days following him and Hurley as they searched fruitlessly for some cabin in the jungle. Sun and Jin were speaking quietly in Korean and Sawyer was hovering near them too. Brent had the feeling that there was about to be a mutiny. Hurley was the only one that appeared to still have faith in Locke. That wasn't saying much since Hurley claimed that he also spoke to dead people. Sun whispered something into Jin's ear and Sawyer leaned down to hear her too. The three of them stopped walking abruptly. Brent and Claire stopped also. The rest of the group followed their lead. Locke didn't notice at first, when he realized they were no longer following him he spun around.

"You guys need a break?" asked Locke, stepping towards them.

"We need a break from you." said Sawyer.

"What are you talking about?" asked Locke. Sawyer looked to Brent for support.

"This is insane, John," said Brent "We have a baby, we can't just wander around the jungle like this."

"Is that how you feel, Claire?" asked Locke. He struck a nerve with Brent. Claire was grieving and vulnerable, the last thing she needed was Locke manipulating her.

Brent stepped in front of her and squared his shoulders.

"Don't single Claire out," he snapped "This is coming from all of us."

"Dude, we chose Locke to lead us, have a little faith." said Hurley. Locke crossed his arms and stared at them.

"Well?" he said "Shall we continue?"

"No!" said Sun quite suddenly, she came forward and faced Locke "We came with you because we didn't want to be involved with the freighter people."

"We want to go back to the beach." said Jin. He had been very quiet but enough was enough.

"We're not going back to the beach," said Locke "We aren't supposed to."

"What are we supposed to do, John?" asked Sun.

"We're supposed to find the cabin." said Locke. Sawyer threw up his hands in frustration and turned to face the group.

"Does anyone have a problem with me leading y'all to the beach?" he asked.

"Let's go." said Brent. He put his arm around Claire's shoulders and they turned their backs on John Locke. Sun and Jin followed.

"You coming, Hugo?" asked Sawyer.

"No, dude."

Without another word to John or Hurley Sawyer walked away with the rest of the group behind him. _Oh how the tables have turned _he thought.

Dylan and Anthony were moving picnic tables together so everyone could sit together. The chicken and vegetables were done and Karl was cooking pasta to go with them. Jack had made his rounds and everyone had agreed that the group should spend some time together. Especially after the Pandora/Charlotte cage match and Alex's fist of fury. Anthony helped Dylan shift the last table into place and they stood back to make sure all of them were even.

"I think we're good." said Dylan.

"You think everyone will come?" asked Anthony.

"I hope they do, we made a lot of food."

"Honestly, buddy, I don't think the girls are going to show."

Dylan frowned and furrowed his brow like he was thinking.

"Why wouldn't they come?" he asked after a moment. Anthony was a little shocked that Dylan wasn't making the connection.

"How have you not heard about the drama?" Dylan shrugged.

"All I heard about was Charlotte and Pandora."

"Ok, well, Pandora is beat up pretty bad so she probably isn't thinking about bonding right now. Alex clocked Charlotte in the nose and broke it so Charlotte is out. Tacey is mad at Naomi for tricking her. Naomi is avoiding Alex so she doesn't get punched too. Bethany and Alex are close and Alex wants to avoid Charlotte so I doubt either of them are coming."

"Well, then, we'll have male bonding," said Dylan "And Kate will come with Jack."

Anthony decided that he liked Dylan. Nothing got him down and his cheer was infectious. He punched Dylan playfully.

"Let's pre-game at my house, I have a beer stash." said Anthony.

"Ok, hey, top five hottest girls, right now." said Dylan. They started walking to the house Anthony was sharing with Miles.

"Tacey, ah Pandora, Naomi, Kate...is it wrong if I say Alex?"

Dylan laughed.

"She's sixteen, dude!" said Dylan "Of course it's wrong!"

"I like dark hair, ok?" was Anthony's reply.

They walked up the steps onto the porch and Dylan sat down. Anthony went inside for a moment and came back out with two beers. "So, what's your top five?"

Dylan thought about it for a minute.

"Kate, then Bethany. Pandora, Naomi and...Charlotte."

"I'm not big on redheads. Don't tell Daniel, he'll kill you."

Dylan asked him to explain and he launched into gossip that had spread on the freighter. The sun was starting to set and Dylan was happy about the night. He hoped this dinner would bring everyone together. If not, he still had his good friends.

Naomi was getting ready for the "mandatory family dinner" as Jack had called it when there was a knock on her door. She had just stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She answered the door and wasn't surprised to see Will standing there. He had opened his mouth to speak but no words were coming out.

"Come in." she said. He stepped inside and she shut the door behind him. He looked her up and down appreciatively.

"Very nice." he said.

"Don't be vulgar." said Naomi jokingly. Will waggled his eyebrows. "So, what's going on?"

"I thought you might need to process after all the drama." he was being sarcastic. He just wanted to be close to her and both of them knew it. She went in her room to get dressed and came back out. She was wearing a black sundress.

"Where did you find that?" he asked.

"In the closet here, very nice of the previous owner to leave it for me." Will couldn't stop looking at her lips. They were perfectly proportioned and pinkish naturally.

"Will, are you ok?" Her voice snapped him out of it.

"I'm not ok, Naomi," he said "The day you showed up everything changed. I think about you all day long, when you went into the jungle without me I was so worried."

With every word he took a step closer to her. At one time she might have backed away but she let him wrap his arms around her. She reached up and twined her fingers in his curly, blonde hair. His heart was so pure, despite his reputation as a druggie. He was good to her and gentle. Originally, she had told herself she wasn't going to get distracted from her mission, especially not by Will but everything was different now. She finally let him kiss her and she got lost in the moment. He tasted like the mangos he was always eating and she loved it. When he pulled back to look at her he realized something. She was looking at him the same way he saw Kate look at Jack. She pulled him close again, like she couldn't stand for them to be apart even for a second. For the first time in Will's life, he _knew _he was where he should be.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: wow. long one. I hope you guys liked it. leave me some reviews with ideas for the story. What characters would you like to see more of? (besides your own!)**


	10. We Need to Talk

Daniel left Pandora sleeping on Jack's couch and set off to attend the "mandatory family dinner". He stepped off of Jack's porch and set off across the compound.

"Daniel!" he looked over his shoulder and saw Charlotte walking behind him. He stopped and let her catch up.

"I didn't think you were going to come." said Daniel.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Charlotte "Watching hormonal island teenagers get catty with underfed plane crash survivors, how could I miss out on that?"

"Fair enough," said Daniel "How's your nose?"

"Healing, hopefully," Charlotte was silent for a moment, then she said "Were you with Pandora, this whole time?"

"Are you jealous?" Daniel grinned.

"Don't be silly, I'm not jealous of that little viper." Charlotte said it a little too fast.

"Then why do you care if I spend time with her?" Daniel was trying to back Charlotte into a metaphorical corner. Charlotte blushed and looked away. "Charlotte?"

"Maybe I want to spend time with you, Dan," she said quietly "On the ship, we would stay up late together and work on your memory problem or just talk. I miss it."

"You miss me." Daniel was thrilled. Charlotte had seemed so unattainable to him. Now here she was, and she wanted to spend time with him.

"I wouldn't go that far." Charlotte backpedaled. Daniel slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Bull-shit marathon. Dharma beer. Just you and me, tonight." he said.

"I'm going to annihilate you." said Charlotte.

"I know, you always beat me at cards." said Daniel.

They walked towards dinner together laughing.

Despite Jack's misgivings, their family dinner wasn't turning out to be a complete disaster. Pandora was the only one that didn't make an appearance. Jack sat in the middle of the table with Kate on his right and Danielle on his left. Alex was sitting next to Danielle with Karl on her other side. Tacey was holding court on the other side of the table across from them. Miles was sitting next to her and Anthony was next to Miles, talking animatedly with Dylan and Bethany. Naomi had apologized to Tacey for the Tempest incident and they were sitting together. Will was with Naomi as usual and he had his arm around her. They were behaving very much like young people in love. Will whispered something into her ear and she kissed his cheek. When Daniel and Charlotte arrived they sat next to Kate. Alex and Charlotte politely ignored each other.

"Is everyone here?" asked Jack, surveying the table.

"Everyone but Pandora," said Kate "Should we start?"

"Yeah, she probably isn't going to wake up anytime soon. I dosed her with that Demerol you found," said Jack "Dylan, would you like to say a few words?"

Dylan nodded eagerly. Jack gestured for him to take over.

"Okay, first I would like to thank God for this wonderful food and for bringing all of us together tonight." said Dylan. A few people rolled their eyes at this but bowed their heads anyway. "Now I'd like to ask for a moment of silence to remember the fallen. Think of Charlie or Boone or Mr. Eko and Libby, they live on in our memories."

Everyone was moved by Dylan's words, they closed their eyes and remained silent.

"Okay," said Dylan "Remember, our friends are gone but never forgotten. We should all try to get along. Who knows how much time we have left together? We shouldn't spend it fighting. Now, everyone dig in."

There was a chorus of murmured praise for Dylan and plates started moving up and down the table. Jack looked up and down the table in approval. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen his people enjoy spending time together.

"It's nice, isn't it?" asked Kate.

"It is nice," said Jack "When we aren't fighting for our lives we fight each other. Then someone dies and we mourn. I think the last time we all ate a meal together and enjoyed it was when Hurley brought the food out of the Hatch."

"I miss those days." said Kate

"I miss you, Kate. " Jack said suddenly.

"Jack, don't," said Kate "It's too late for us."

"It might be too late for us as a couple but it isn't too late for you to know how I feel about you."

Kate didn't respond. She stared down at her plate and pushed some food around. She turned to Charlotte and asked how her nose was healing. Jack sighed sadly. Even amongst his own people he still felt alone.

"Are you all right, Jack?" asked Danielle. She had stopped talking with Alex and they were both staring at him, concerned. Seeing both of them together and happy warmed Jack's heart. Since meeting Alex when he had been captured by the Others, Jack had hoped to reunite her with her mother.

"I'm fine," said Jack "Are you guys enjoying all the togetherness?"

Danielle made a face without even meaning to and Alex laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Are you guys going to bring Pandora some leftovers or should I since she's crashing on my couch?"

"I went to get her before I came but she wasn't there," said Alex "I thought she would be here."

"If she's not here then where the hell is she?" asked Jack.

Pandora had woken up alone in Jack's house. Daniel had promised he would be there when she woke up but he had left her. It was just as well. Pandora was in the old office building that the Dharma Initiative had used for all their paperwork. Ben and Richard used it as an office and records building now when they were at the barracks. She was sifting through the "P" filing cabinet. She remembered Harper's words about records of her birth being here. She found a file with her name on it but there wasn't anything in it that she didn't already know. Frustrated, she put it back and debated with herself about where to look next. Richard had told her that she had been born in the fall of 1984, making her twenty years old now. She went to the filing cabinet for 1984 and found a file that contained a record of all the pregnancies that year. She knew some of the names of the women and discovered a pattern. After a certain point all of the women had miscarried. At last she came to a file that was labeled "Subject 0". Some of the papers inside were hand-written and had likely been written before the "purge" of the Dharma Initiative. Her hands shook as she opened the file and began to read. The first paper was dated October 22, 1984.

_It has been brought to our attention that there is need for an emergency c-section. Without proper surgical protocol and anesthesia it is likely Subject 0 will not survive the procedure. If Subject 0 does survive the procedure our leader Charles Widmore has ordered that Subject 0 be put to death as Subject 0 did not appear on the list. _

The next page was dated October 24, 1984.

_As ordered by Charles Widmore, an emergency Caesarian was performed on Subject 0 today. Due to stressful conditions the child was breached. Subject 0 was anesthetized with Chloroform and the procedure was performed by our resident nurse practitioner, Mikhail (asked that full name be withheld from records). He was able to separate the child in time and it was born healthy. (See file : Pandora) Subject 0 began bleeding profusely and Mikhail was ordered to let Subject 0 bleed out. _

Pandora didn't need to read anymore. Only three people had the answers she needed and one of them was dead and the other was out in the jungle. Ben was here though, locked up in Jack's basement. Pandora put the file back and hurried out of the records building. She ran across the compound without anyone seeing her and ducked into Jack's house. She took the stairs down to the basement two at a time. Keeping her nine millimeter handy, she unlocked the heavy metal door and stepped into the holding room. There he was, Ben, her father. He was sitting on the floor and reading a book that Alex had probably brought him. He looked up and smirked.

"Hello, Pandora, what a lovely surprise," he said, sarcasm oozing from his every word "Did you come to visit because you miss your dear, old, Dad?"

She pointed the handgun at his head and clicked off the safety.

"Tell me about Subject 0," she said "Tell me everything."

"I was wondering when this day would come. I guess Harper ran her mouth to you, am I right?"

"Now, Ben." snapped Pandora. Ben held up his hands in mock surrender.

"All right, take it easy. Back in the Fall of 1984 pieces of a shipwreck washed up on shore. We thought there were no survivors. A few days later we discovered there was one. Jacob had sent us a blank list with the message that the candidate didn't have a name yet. When we combed the island, we discovered Richard had been hiding a woman from us in the caves. Her name was Electra and she was very beautiful, of Mediterranean descent I would have to guess. She was a little over eight months pregnant. Widmore wanted her dead as soon as possible and Richard wanted to wait for the baby to be born. It was put to a vote and we were going to steal medical supplies so we could induce her labor but under the stress of everything complications arose and the baby breached. Mikhail performed an emergency c-section and the baby was born healthy. He wanted to stitch Electra up and save her life but Widmore ordered that he let her die. Richard was there for everything and she asked him to raise the baby specifically. That, Pandora, was how you were brought into this world." Ben held his breath, unsure of if she was going to shoot him or not. Pandora lowered her gun and took a deep breath.

"How did you play in to all of this?" she asked after a moment.

"I was amongst the ones that wanted to expedite your birth." Ben replied.

"You mean you didn't want my mother to live. You wanted me for yourself."

"That also," said Ben carefully "Richard and I fought for full 'custody' of you, if you will. In the end it was granted to me but Richard remained ever present in your childhood."

Their conversation was interrupted by voices echoing from the hall. The door swung open and Jack and Alex came into the room. They simultaneously looked from Pandora to Ben then back to Pandora.

"What in the hell is going on in here?" asked Jack.

"Ben was just telling me the heartwarming story of my birth." said Pandora.

"I thought you were orphaned when your mother died in a hunting accident here on the island. Dad took you in and raised you." said Alex. They all looked to Ben for a response.

"I wasn't entirely truthful." said Ben.

"Yeah, Ben. You weren't, were you?" said Pandora "Tell them how you and Widmore had Mikhail cut my mother open like an animal. Tell them how she didn't have to die."

"Come on, Pandora," said Jack, putting a hand on her shoulder "Visiting hours are over."

Jack ushered Pandora and Alex out of Ben's holding room and locked the door behind them. This island became more of a soap opera every day.

Family dinner had broken up and everyone had drifted off in different directions. Bethany, Miles, Tacey, and Anthony had decided to take a walk on the beach. The competition between Miles and Anthony for Tacey's heart was still going strong. Tacey walked arm in arm with Bethany and enjoyed watching both men jockey for her.

"I think we should go for a night swim." said Tacey.

"Don't the sharks come out at night?" asked Miles.

"I've never seen a shark the entire time I've been here, day or night." said Bethany.

"That's good enough for me." said Anthony. He stripped off his shoes and shirt.

"Swimming is always a good way to get them to take their shirts off." Bethany said into Tacey's ear. Tacey nodded her agreement. Anthony was down to his boxers now and he went plunging into the water.

"Somebody better get in here with me, right now!" yelled Anthony. Tacey stripped down to her underwear and followed Anthony's example. Bethany was right behind her but she noticed Miles had paused and was watching Tacey.

"Forget about them," said Bethany "Come in the water with me."

"Okay," said Miles "You better not let any sharks eat me."

The minute Miles put one toe in the water, he knew something was off.

"What's wrong, Miles?" asked Bethany.

"Don't freak out, but there's a body in the water somewhere." he said slowly.

"Should we tell them to get out?"

Their conversation was interrupted by Anthony emitting a high-pitched scream.

"I guess they found it." said Miles.

Anthony came running out of the water looking very much shook up.

"You guys," he said "There's a fucking body in the water."

Tacey was standing in the ocean waist deep, examining a dark form that was floating in the water.

"We know." said Miles. He waded into the ocean to stand with Tacey.

"Do you know who this is?" asked Tacey.

"Oh yeah," said Miles "This is the doctor from our boat."

"What did this?"

"Keamy. One of the mercenaries from the freighter," said Miles "They're coming. They're coming right now."

"We better get Jack down here." said Tacey.

Tacey helped Miles drag the body out of the water and Anthony went to get Jack. It was going to be a long night.

When Daniel knocked on Charlotte's door that night he had every intention of just playing a friendly game of cards and maybe drinking a few beers together but things hadn't turned out that way. Charlotte tiptoed around the issue at a first. After destroying Daniel in the first game Charlotte put down her beer and told him that they needed to talk.

"What about, Charlotte?" asked Daniel. He was dying to see how this played out.

"I'm worried that you are getting distracted from our mission," she said "Remember? Land, find Benjamin Linus, and get out."

"Things are much more complicated now, Charlotte." said Daniel.

"They're complicated because of Pandora and her people." said Charlotte.

"Are you sure this is about our mission?" asked Daniel.

"This is about Pandora distracting you, Daniel. She's dangerous and volatile. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Aha," said Daniel "It sounds like you don't want me around her."

"I'm just extending a friendly warning," snapped Charlotte "It's getting pretty late. You should probably go."

They rose from their seats at the table and Charlotte walked him to the door. Daniel turned back to her suddenly.

"I know things are complicated now, but I want to simplify them." He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her. Charlotte's hand rose to touch his face as she returned the kiss. He broke away from her and smiled sheepishly.

"Good night, Charlotte." he stepped out the door, heart hammering in his chest. He knew that more than anything, he wanted Charlotte's love.

Karl and Alex had packed their things and they were about to leave for the Temple. Alex didn't say goodbye to Danielle. It would have been far too painful and she didn't want her to try and stop them. Pandora punched Karl in the arm playfully.

"Take care of my sister." she said.

"I will, I promise." said Karl. Alex and Pandora hugged.

"I love you more than anything in the world." Pandora said to Alex.

"I love you too. Please come get me when this is all over." said Alex.

"I will. I'll be there the second it's safe." Pandora let Alex go and she walked out the door with Karl. They set off into the night together, heading in the direction of the Temple. Little did they know, they would never reach their destination.

**author's note: This chapter was a little slow and I apologize for that. This was a transitional chapter. please leave reviews! Let me know y'all are still reading this and want me to update.**


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